Fewer than a tenth of people who could benefit from GLP-1 drugs such as Wegovy can access them, caution the global health agency as it issues its inaugural recommendations on the medications.
Given more than one billion individuals worldwide now classified as obese, it is advocating for broader and more equitable availability to these injectable treatments.
Per estimates, over two billion will be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"Our new guidance affirms that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be managed with comprehensive and lifelong support," stated WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, limited production capacity, and distribution challenges are key hurdles to widespread access to the treatments that can assist patients in reducing substantial body mass, explains the agency.
Skinny Jab Shortage
Even in the current most favorable case, the manufacturing of such drugs might only reach around 100 million people – less than 10% of the global need, as stated by the WHO.
The guideline encourages nations and manufacturers to widen availability, by strategies including licensing agreements.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the core ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is scheduled to end in a number of nations in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Drugs Function
These medications replicate a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, suppress the appetite and boost the sense of being full so individuals consume fewer calories.
Individuals commonly begin shedding pounds after several weeks of starting on the weekly injections.
Research indicates users may put most of the weight back on after a year of halting the medication, when their usual hunger return.
Being above a healthy weight raises your risk for developing health problems, including diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and certain malignancies.
Obesity concerns people in all nations and was linked to millions of fatalities worldwide in 2024, per the health agency.
